Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research

Volume 3 Article 3

2011

Civil War Attitudes as Seen in Children’s Mediaand ToysAndrea de Melo

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Recommended Citationde Melo, Andrea (2011) "Civil War Attitudes as Seen in Children’s Media and Toys," Journal of Interdisciplinary UndergraduateResearch: Vol. 3 , Article 3.Available at: https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/jiur/vol3/iss1/3

Civil War Attitudes as Seen

in Children’s Media and Toys

Andrea de Melo

Abstract: In an age when children were urged to be “seen and not heard,”

some of the faint voices of children during the Civil War survived to give a

picture of their lives. Children played many roles in the Civil War; some

children became Civil War soldiers, while other children stayed home but

never escaped the image of the brave examples of drummer boys embodied

in countless poems, literature, and pictures. The children were part of a

culture that devoured even the youngest citizens of the war-torn nation

during the Civil War. Today through their writings and other primary

documents, we know that children were aware of the events of the war. In

fact, many of the ideals in a given group or side of the war were specifically

included in children’s media in order to teach and inform children. These

works for children give insight into the minds of what children may have

experienced and provide understanding of what adults felt were the most

important attitudes to emulate. In the majority of children’s literature,

books, magazines, and toys, adults attempted to teach children about Civil

War patriotism, social ideals, and stereotypes. Hence, attitudes toward the

enemy, battle emulations and idealizations, patriotic attitudes, and

stereotypes in children’s media and toys represent adult archetypes and

larger societal ideals during the Civil War.

While some Civil War scholars focus on the daily lives of child soldiers and

those in direct contact with the war, this study will explore the attitudes,

influences, and stereotypes in children’s media and toys during the Civil

War. Media such as magazines, schoolbooks, literature, religious tracts, and

adult periodicals offer evidence of the overlapping adult attitudes presented

as social truths to children. I will analyze the overall theme in these works

that portray attitudes about the war and different Civil War perspectives. In

addition, this research will trace how views held by society during the Civil

War became clear paradigms of the noble, patriotic, right and wrong, and

good and bad in children’s works.

Historiography

In their depictions of the life of children during the Civil War, scholars describe the general

wartime atmosphere and events that affected both child soldiers and children on the home front.

Emmy Werner and Jim Murphy offer extensive details about the daily lives of children during

the Civil War. However, they both specifically focus on the experience of the Civil War child as

part of the battle experience. Jim Murphy‟s “The Boys‟ War” describes camp life, war hardships,

statistics concerning population, the enlistment of children, and other intricacies.1

Emmy Werner‟s work “Reluctant Witnesses” also details the war lives of child soldiers and

offers insight into the lives of African-American child soldiers. Werner describes the experiences

of children directly affected by the war and their reactions to these individual experiences.2

Werner‟s work allows children to give their account of the Civil War through their stories and

perspectives. The quotations and primary sources from children and adults show the strength of

children‟s characters and their abilities to bounce back despite their circumstances and war

experiences.3

James Marten deals explicitly with the effects of popular social outlets of information, the

media, and toys on Civil War children. In his work, “Civil War America: Voices from the

Home Front,” Marten details the various aspects of life and types of people affected by the war.

In relation to the experience of children, Marten addresses the rampant and excited tone of

patriotism often found among children during the war. At times, children fervently rose to

defend and speak out against the opposing side in a simple reflection of their own parents‟

patriotism. A Georgia boy named Andrew Miller “remembered that in his Civil War boyhood,

„the small boy‟ had become a „politician, as unflinching and uncompromising in his imaginary

convictions‟ as his father.”4

Marten also affirms there were huge differences in the way Northern and Southern children

lived and experienced the war. In addition, there are different types of media that children from

these different perspectives had access to.5 Although most children were attracted to media and

news concerning the war, Marten suggests there were many differences that divided them

beyond the titles of North and South. Marten argues there are two main experiences of white

children during the Civil War age: that of the Southern child who feels the results of the

blockades, battles, and shortages directly and that of the Northern child who is physically

detached from the action but receives better children‟s literature on the subject.6

Marten also argues that literature was important in stirring the sentiments of young people. He

stated that young people “want something that will stir the blood and warm the heart.”7

Likewise, he stresses the importance of the collective stereotypes surrounding certain children on

both sides of the war and the great lengths children‟s publications took in reaffirming these

“truths.”8

In “Children for the Union,” Marten outlines the various influences of popular war culture and

media, as well as the influence of family and community that led to the militarization of many

young boys and to the inspirational support cultivated in their female counterparts.9 However,

Marten‟s most extensive work on the cultivation of patriotism and war views in children is

presented in “The Children‟s Civil War.” This work presents extensive examples of music,

publications, literature, and toys that lead to the cultivation of stereotypes and ideals in the Civil

War that specifically affect children.10 In “Civil War America: Voices from the Home Front,”

Marten emphasizes a difference in the way four groups of children—Northern, Southern, white

and black children—experienced the war. These children also had access to different types of

media. Marten argues there is little literature created for Southern children during the Civil War,

but there is an abundance of lively children‟s works in the North. According to Marten, there was

no literature made for black children, apart from religious tracts and textbooks.11 In this work

Marten argues that the analysis of children‟s literature, toys and media during the Civil War is

essential in understanding how children‟s “moral outlooks and political attitudes” were shaped.12

Doris Y. Wilkinson believes toys can have the same impact. She argues shared communal

views and stereotypes surrounding the war were able to influence children in other more tangible

manifestations with toys. The psychological effects that toys directed toward children are

important in shaping the future of any society. In her article from the Journal of Black

Psychology, Wilkinson states, “Since the collectively shared psychology of toymakers is

inevitably transferred to the play objects that they create, ingrained myths of a society are part of

the meaning assigned toy.”13

Marten does not focus primarily on the everyday experiences of children during the conflicts

of the war, and there is a consensus between Murphy, Werner, and Marten. Their arguments

point to a passionate and idealistic attitude in children. All agree that the majority of children‟s

attitudes—those of an ordinary girl on the home front or a brave young soldier—are fostered by

media outlets and social associations. Murphy argues that attitudes are portrayed in these works

and that children accepted these attitudes as their own.14

How Children Experienced the War

Studying the effects of attitudes in media on children during the war is important because

children form a huge part of society as they hold the future in their hands and made up a large

percentage of the population. The volume of children during the Civil War makes their presence

and influence in society undeniable, as they consisted of more than one-third of the population in

the 1860s.15

Some scholars argue the percentage of soldiers under 18 during the Civil War was around 5%.

Werner contends that the number of underage soldiers is much higher—somewhere between 10

and 20%.16 In 1861, President Lincoln allowed boys under 18 to enlist as long as they had a

parent‟s consent. The next year he prohibited those under 18 to be enlisted; however, in a time

with little or no personal identification documents, recruiters often ignored age limits because of

heavy causalities.17 In addition, many of those who looked old enough or were tall often lied to

officers in order to enlist and would end up finding themselves in the heat of battle.18

In some instances, boys would run away from home and join the war cause in order to avoid

overbearing parents or difficult circumstances in the household. In general, the lives of most

middle- to lower-class children involved hard labor and difficult housework. In a popular youth

magazine, The Youth’s Companion, which often reported the day-to-day happenings of young

people, a Massachusetts boy reveals his workload. The report relates:

Rather keen and suggestive was a repartee made the other evening by a little

fellow in a Pittsfield, Mass., barbershop. A gentleman of standing, and an owner

in one of the factories, came in, and, impatient at being delayed, while two boys

had their hair cut, remarked that „Little boys ought to get their hair cut in the day

time, and go to bed in the evening.‟ „Yes,‟ replied one of the juveniles; „but little

boys who have to get up in the morning at five o‟clock and work in the mill till

seven at night, must get their hair cut when they can.‟19

A 15-year-old Wisconsin boy named Elisha Stockwell was also motivated to join the war

effort due to home and work conditions. Although he wanted to join the fight, Elisha initially put

aside his patriotic zeal after he was persuaded by his father to not join the Confederate forces so

that he could attend school in the winter. However, his father never let him go to school but

instead subjected him to a grueling job: burning coal. Elisha devised a plan to run away from

home; he then lied to the recruitment officer to enlist.20

For many boys, involvement in the war effort was particularly important. Unlike children who

were merely exposed to war media, some children learned about the war from first-hand

experience. In his autobiographical account of his boyhood during the Civil War, Jesse Bowman

Young argues that “experience in the army was an education of itself of the most valuable sort.”

War participation was a valuable way to learn patriotism. During his time in the military, a boy

attained “knowledge of military and national affairs, a series of glimpses of the resources and

possibilities of the nation and a love for freedom.”21

Depicting the Enemy

Adults within a child‟s family and personal circles not only influenced children to join the

war, but they also used toys or printed material to relay their messages and agendas. A number of

objects, toys and pictures from the Civil War era replicated the ideals of the general public to

shape the minds of children regarding their allegiance. John Curtis Crandall states that many

adults during the nineteenth century emphasized teaching young people about a society‟s social

values surrounding war and patriotic sentiments. He also argues that the nineteenth century

generation was especially fervent about teaching young generations because there was a type of

“self-conscious nationalism” surrounding them.22 Marten argues that political meanings and

attitudes were the driving force behind most children‟s books and magazines in the North. They

explained the Union‟s war tactics, argued slavery was the main cause of the war, and strove to

depict former slaves in a positive light.23

Many authors blamed the Confederacy for the start of the war.24 In J.T. Trowbridge‟s “The

Turning of the Leaf,” the narrator named Uncle Rodman describes the South‟s stubbornness in

the war and their failure to see their own moral failings. He describes “the rebellion as a

stupendous piece of folly, as well as stupendous wickedness.”25 One picture printed during that

holiday season from The New York Herald delivered a clear picture of Southern sentiments

toward the North by portraying Santa Claus as the Confederate supporter. The depiction

illustrated an “irate Santa Claus complaining that the blockade prevented his visits to Southern

children.”26

Santa Claus was also portrayed to Southern children in a contrasting light; as an accomplice to

the war shortages felt in the South. The Richmond Examiner, called Santa Claus “a dutch toy

monger…who has no more to do with genuine Virginia hospitality and Christmas merry makings

than a Hottentot.”27

The use of Santa Claus to represent political inclinations during the Civil War era was

prevalent because of the growing popularity of Thomas Nast‟s “new depiction” of the Santa

Claus character as jollier and rounder than earlier depictions.28 Nast, a popular propaganda artist

for Harper’s Weekly, “drew Santa Claus in his workshop and gave him a permanent address at

the North Pole so no other country could claim him and use him for propaganda, as Nast himself

did during the Civil War.”29

The popular Christmas character was used to enforce political inclinations, especially to

children who viewed this character as the ultimate definition of who was “good” or “bad.” There

were many instances that Santa Claus was used by the North or South during the Civil War to

reinforce social attitudes. In an account from “A Confederate Girl‟s Diary” written by Sarah

Dawson, Santa Claus is depicted supporting the Mexican-American War fought earlier in the

century. Her entry on December 26, 1862, relates that a Confederate general entered the room

passing out gifts as “Santa Claus, dressed in the old uniform of the Mexican War.”30

The implications of such illustrations depicted in newspapers and other works is important in

understanding the types of stereotypes and ideas represented visually. Although most newspapers

are directed toward an adult audience, an illustration depicting Santa Claus and other fictional

children‟s characters could catch a child‟s eye.

Thomas Nast‟s politically loaded yet curious illustrations were frequently featured in Harper’s

Weekly. Harper’s intended audience was adults, as some of the imagery required complex

understanding of the metaphors and puns included in his drawings. Nevertheless, Nast‟s works,

such as his 1863 Christmas edition illustration depicting Santa Claus as a Union supporter, could

have easily reached the eyes of children. Although children probably overlooked the complexity

of the textual articles, the illustrations were something they could comprehend and learn from. In

one case, however, Nast shifts the focus in one of his illustrations portraying Santa Claus

delivering a pile of Harper’s Weekly to soldiers, reading “Children…you mustn‟t think that

Santa Claus comes to you alone…[he also comes] so that they [soldiers], as well as you little

folks, may have a peep at the Christmas number.”31

Although Nast clearly sends these messages to children through adult media outlets, one may

wonder whether children actually had access and were aware of the important issues and subject

matter of periodicals that were intended for adults. There are examples of children coming in

contact with these major periodicals, including the Harper illustrations. In one account, related

by Marten, a Boston boy used adhesive to put together a “panorama” of illustrations from

Harper’s Weekly in order to better understand the military occurrences of the war. Consequently,

he also used the illustrations as a visual aid when he taught and passed on what he had learned to

his peers.32

Children made learning about the war a personal responsibility even without direct parental

influence. For example, Sarah Dawson‟s diary describes her anxiousness to hear news of the

war, not from her parents, but from her own readings and thoughts on the news about the North.

She explains that on “Saturday night, having secured a paper, we were all crowding around, Lilly

and I reading every now and then a piece of news from opposite ends of the paper.”33 She further

explained knowledge of a warning in “a leading Union paper of New Orleans, threatening us

with the arming of the slaves for [Southern] extermination.”34

The evidence shows children interacted with these illustrations and media and used them as a

tool for learning and understanding the events and intricacies of the war. Messages delivered to

adults were the same that were given to children. The representations of good and bad are

continuously emphasized in media for both children and adults during this time. Taking sides

was essential both on the battlefield and at home. Adults made sure to emphasize the importance

of taking a stand by using characters relatable to children such as Santa Claus. Nast‟s and others‟

embodiment of Santa Claus as a Union and/or Confederate supporter is the paradigm of what

adults in society were attempting to do. This was an adult representation of an important ideal

that is accessible and attractive to children.

Imitating the War

Other illustrations originally intended for the use of soldiers that were integrated into child‟s

play were from “Hardee‟s Tactics,” a popular Army training manual.35 The manual was

published by the U.S. War Department and was available in most bookstores. Boys often wanted

to mirror the drilling and formality of real war. The manual, containing illustrations of the proper

ways of holding a gun, marching, and forming a charge line, was the perfect guide to making

play feel realistic.36 Many young men in the North relied solely on the games they played as

children when trying to understand the nature of war. However, most soldiers soon learned that

their fantasy games were nothing like real battles.37 Benjamin Smith of Illinois said he believed

combat would be like his childhood games in which he and his friends engaged “in a battle royal

charging each other until our ammunition was exhausted … some of us would get a black eye or

bloody nose now and then, which we did not mind much.”38

Similar war manuals were also advertised on the back of children‟s books. Other toy war

paraphernalia that was advertised included an “Eastern Army Guide” and the “General Army

Guide of Southern Territory.” They also came complete with detailed maps of Southern

battlefields and pictures of camps and hospitals.39 In addition, a number of boys used newspapers

to learn the latest events of the war and to properly “organize their own boy companies” in play.

They also used newspapers and letters sent home from their fathers to learn “the names of the

great … generals of the Civil War.”40

Girls were often influenced by their family members to help with the war effort during play

time. The story of Margaret Campbell is another example of children‟s playtime and toys being

influenced by the war. The Civil War inspired her to write a story about her Civil War

experiences. She refers to early childhood memories of her grandmother. Campbell explains that

she was “inspired” by her grandmother, who often used words such as “compassion” when she

described slaves and wounded soldiers. After learning these attitudes from her grandmother,

Campbell built her own play hospital complete with ground up brick and leaf pieces that she

fashioned in order to resemble medicines. She called the medicines “Bricktiva” and “Leafiticus.”

She also made beds and coffins for the wounded and dead soldiers she cared for in her imaginary

world.41

Children not only read and heard about the war from adults, but they also imitated adults they

saw worthy of simulation. These imitations of Civil War roles and ideals are important in

understanding that lessons emphasized by adults actually took shape. In the same war, adult

media and influences urged people to join war efforts and children were also inspired.

Patriotism — A Noble Death

There are accounts of children not only reacting to illustrations in adult periodicals and works

but also to the implications of war on a deeper level as explained in the magazine‟s text in the

form of prose. In another reference made to Harper’s Weekly, a young boy reacts to a poem

published by the magazine called “The Drummer Boy‟s Burial.” The article, published in a

magazine for adults, was so powerful that the boy was convinced that he wanted to join the war

effort to become like “the dead drummer boy.” The probable implication of the poem, intended

for a rational audience with a mature understanding of the consequences of war, was probably to

inspire patriotism and support for the war. However the implications of this poem on a child‟s

mind would have led him to idealize these attributes to the extreme.

Children also participated in patriotism through community influence and awareness. A sense

of communal patriotism is depicted in “What a Boy Saw in the Army,” a memoir written by

Jesse B. Young of his childhood during the Civil War. In the work, he described how he and his

childhood peers were participants in acts of patriotism as they interacted with their parents,

family, and community. He explains that children were exposed to the avenues of

communication by speeches written primarily for an adult audience. He recalls a scene in which

a crowd near the War Department in Washington suddenly heard about Lee‟s surrender from

clerks and other office workers who relayed telegraphed messages of the latest news.

The streets of Washington were filled with a tumultuous throng of soldiers,

citizens, women and children … shouting till the sky resounded with their songs

in cheers … hearing speeches … from Vice President Johnson full of patriotism

and joy, and meanwhile, at intervals, joining in the songs of that day.43

Another young New Yorker related that he shared in this communal information sharing

experience: “„We boys would read them to the eager crowd assembled‟ outside.”44 Their

exposure not only came from direct contact with media and publications but also from word of

mouth and from a communal experience that spread and experienced information together.

There was also an ocean of children‟s magazines and works that shaped children‟s views on

patriotism. Children during this time did not receive watered-down versions of the realities of the

war. From early childhood, they were pushed and pulled to believe many different views. In one

article from the Student & Schoolmate from February 1861, titled “The Union,” a detailed

argument is presented as to why all “young readers” should side with the Union. The author

hoped children were all “patriotic enough to work and pray for the Union, whether they live[d] at

the North or the South.” They were asked to take sides and work for their side. Children were

called to action and to be patriotic by conjuring up ideals of the Revolution. The article reminds

readers that “Our fathers who gave us the Union, and with it the institutions under which we

have been a free and prosperous people, fought the battles of the revolution for a principle … our

fathers were resolute.”45

In a similar article, “The Stars and Stripes” from Student & Schoolmate in July 1861, children

were reminded “conviction of duty and love of country, the certainty of future and deserved

success” inspires men to bear arms. The article stressed that fervent patriotism was part of an

epic-like tradition, “a love which rests upon all we know and all we feel of a heroic past, and

upon all that inspires to our immortal future.” Therefore, if the country did not fight to defend

our flag as a symbol of “one history, of one past … our fathers‟ bones would rattle in their

graves.”46

In both articles, the children were called to work. “Those true and brave representatives, who

on the tented field bear up our honor and our cause” represent the ultimate paradigm of

patriotism as represented in these articles. In “The Stars and Stripes,” the speaker explains that a

glorious death comes about from willingly defending liberty. He urges that “with the last breath,

I can again repeat, as did the first martyr of the Massachusetts soldiery of 1861: „All hail to the

stars and stripes.‟”47

Even political events related to the Civil War, such as the murder of President Lincoln were

embedded in children‟s toys. A series of “commemorative” wooden puzzles comprised of blocks

were made in a series of designs which included the depiction of various monuments including

the “Children‟s Monument” puzzle. This toy puzzle featured several illustrations of Lincoln and

his family. In addition, they also included propagandist text blatantly directed toward children:

“We are but children, yet thou hast a warm place in all our hearts. When our parents speak of

great and noble they whisper thy name with reverence, and tell us to emulate thy virtues.”48

The virtues represented in toys and media were a direct reflection of adult experiences in the

war. Children during this time are not only given representations of what good boys and girls

should to do help out, but they are also given intense realities of suffering and death. As we can

see in these examples, many vivid examples are given to children directly from realistic

instances, and nothing is toned down for them. Ideals were not changed for a children‟s audience

in any way. In other words, presenting suffering, death and sacrifice as examples of perfect

patriotism shows the overlap of adult thinking vividly in children‟s works.

Toys, Books Infused with Racial Stereotypes

The propaganda generated from toys was often a material manifestation of popular opinion

into the hands of children. In some instances, these toys promoted more than opinions of the

Union-Confederacy division, and at times, racial stereotypes were infused into playthings.

For example, the Uncle Tom mechanical bank toy was developed by the Montgomery Ward &

Co. The toy mimicked the African-American slave character from Harriet Beecher Stowe‟s

popular novel “Uncle Tom‟s Cabin.” The doll featured “movement, which was used to convey

stereotypical images: „rolling eyes‟ and „thrusting tongue.‟ Each was describes as „amusing‟ and

„comical.‟”49 A toy with mechanical tendencies could be interpreted as the manifestations of

“common” black traits of laziness, foolery and disregard to authority. Such a toy could influence

a child‟s perceptions of blacks, and this toy may have been produced to reinforce negative

connotations and a deep-seeded social disregard of blacks. Reinforcement of stereotypes in toys

could guide a child to support the position of the Southern “Rebels” that slavery was necessary

for survival.50

Toys and games such as Milton Bradley‟s Checkered Game of Life, developed in the 1860s,

are another example of parents influencing their children through toys.51 While some parents

considered black caricatures to be harmless, children subconsciously learned stereotypes through

play. Giving the best toys to children was the best way to ensure their happiness and

development—a type of nursery-story Darwinism.52

Conversely, some involved in children‟s literature felt they must right the injustices in society

against the blacks. Many religious publishers of Sunday school books and tracts sought to

portray trustworthy, honest blacks in their publications for children. “Black and White: or, The

Heart, not the Face” was a children‟s religious tract that embodied the Christian mission to

represent blacks as good citizens. The tract‟s preface outlines the mission of the work, arguing:

“Let our country, so scourged with divine judgments for three quarters of a century of

oppression, learn, through late, that „God hath made of One blood all nations of men,‟ and that

the only true test of character and merit among them is „the heart, not the face.‟” The story

outlines a family of blacks on a plantation and their interactions with white people and their

discussions about freedom. In the tract, Whites are portrayed as noble and hating slavery; one

gentleman in the story understands the blacks‟ struggle and states that “I‟m not at all surprised at

their desire for freedom, and I heartily sympathize with them. I want to be free myself! I wish the

James River would rise and sink the plantation, for it‟s a bill of expense to me when I‟m at

home, and a torment to me when away.”53

Conclusion

Civil War media and propaganda were part of an unofficial educational system that many

parents and children were drawn to. In the same way, children media and toys became a direct

reflection of many of the Civil War attitudes and perspectives that adults thought important to

teach their children. Attitudes toward the enemy, views toward minorities, and patriotism

culminated in many ways by children emulating these ideals.

As a result, those in publishing, entertainment, and other organizations cashed in on the war

fervor.54 Through these various media outlets and paraphernalia, children were encouraged to be

patriotic and to choose sides based on the information that was fed to them. Information was fed

to them by caring adults who wanted to mold them into respectable members of a group or

society but also by adults anxious to make a dime off of their interest. The various attitudes the

stereotypes represented to children often served as positive examples of honest and sacrificing

characters to be emulated. However, despite all of their efforts, a number of negative ideals

emphasized by adults were eventually fed to children. These stories, toys, and characters in many

ways served as more than representations to the outside world. Most importantly they were the

substance of children‟s thoughts, the people they wanted to be when they matured. Sadly, the

catalysts drove these soon-to-be men and women into some of the same pitfalls that sparked the

Civil War: division and hate.

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Endnotes

1 Jim Murphy, The Boys‟ War (New York, NY: Clarion Books, 1990), 2, 73, 80. 2 Wilma King, Review of Reluctant Witnesses, by Emmy Werner. The Journal of Southern

History, 65, no. 4 (November 1999): 872-873. 3 Laura Green, “Books in Brief: Nonfiction; Former Children,” New York Times, Book Review,

August 2, 1998. 4 James Marten, Civil War America: Voices from the Home Front (Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-

CLIO, Inc., 2003), 161. 5 Robert Coles, Review of The Children‟s Civil War by James Marten. The Journal of American

History 86, no. 2, (September 1999): 781-782. 6 Marten, The Children‟s Civil War, 6-10. 7 James Marten, Civil War America: Voices from the Home Front (Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-

CLIO, Inc., 2003), 193. 8 James Marten, Civil War America: Voices from the Home Front (Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-

CLIO, Inc., 2003), 200. 9 James Marten, Children for the Union (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2004), 138. 10 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 10-11. 11 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 2. 12 Robert Coles, Review of The Children‟s Civil War by James Marten. The Journal of American

History, 86, no. 2, (September 1999): 781-782. 13 Doris Y Wilkinson, “Play Objects as Tools as Propaganda: Characterizations of the African

American Male,” Journal of Black Psychology, 3. 14 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 3. 15 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 10. Jim Murphy, The Boys‟ War (New York, NY: Clarion Books, 1990), 2; Miriam

Jennie Bunow, “The Archaeology of Childhood: Toys in 19th Century Upstate New York”

(master‟s thesis, Binghamton University, 2009), 4. In order to correctly understand and

distinguish the influences of such social outlets on children‟s perceptions, we must establish the

exact time period and age group of the individuals that are the focus of this paper. First, the

songs, literature, periodicals, and toys discussed in this work relate only to those produced during

the Civil War era between 1860-1865. Second, Murphy and Bunow agree that a child is any

individual under the age of sixteen, as sixteen is the age range that Civil War society considered

as childhood. Some may also define childhood as a “socially-defined age-range,” or the period of

time that a child‟s society considers or treats him or her as a child or infant. According to this

argument, childhood may end at any age between sixteen and twenty-five.

16 Emmy Werner, Reluctant Witnesses: Children‟s Voices from the Civil War (Boulder, Co.,

1998), 9. 17 “Child Soldiers,” Digital History,

(http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/children_civilwar/child_soldiers.cfm) 18 Werner, 10. 19 “A Keen Retort” (from The Youth’s Companion, July 20, 1865, 116.

http://www.merrycoz.org/yc/BITS2.HTM) 20 Jim Murphy, The Boys‟ War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War.

(New York, NY: Clarion Books, 1990), 13 21 Jesse B. Young, What a Boy Saw in the Army: A story of sight-seeing and adventure in the

War for the Union, (New York: Hunt & Eaton, 1894), 393 22 John Curtis Crandall, “Images and Ideals for Young Americans; a study of American juvenile

literature” (Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Rochester, 1957), 232. 23 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 40. 24 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 40. 25 J.T. Trowbridge, “Turning of the Leaf,” Our Young Folks, June 1865, 399. 26 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 120. 27 Ibid., 120-121. 28 Kevin Rawlings, “Christmas in the Civil War,” Civil War Times, December 1993. 29 Thomas F. Schwartz, “Grief, Souvenirs, and Enterprise Following Lincoln‟s Assassination,”

Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 83 (Winter 1990) 262. 30 Sarah Morgan Dawson, A Confederate Girl‟s Diary (Cambridge: Mass.: The Riverside Press,

1913), 307. 31 Kevin Rawlings, “Christmas in the Civil War,” Civil War Times, December 1993. 32 James Marten, Lessons of War: The Civil War in Children‟s Magazines (Wilmington, Del.:

SR Books, A Scholarly Resources Inc. Imprint, 1999), 74. 33 Sarah Morgan Dawson, A Confederate Girl‟s Diary (Cambridge: Mass.: The Riverside Press,

1913), 99. 34 Ibid., 103. 35 James Marten, Lessons of War: The Civil War in Children‟s Magazines (Wilmington, Del.:

SR Books, A Scholarly Resources Inc. Imprint, 1999), 75. 36 United States War Department, U. S. infantry tactics: for the instruction, exercise, and

maneuvers of the United States infantry, including infantry of the line, light infantry, and

riflemen (Cambridge, Mass.: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1863), 120. 37 Earl J. Hess, The Union Soldier in Battle (Lawrence, Ks: University Press of Kansas, 1997), 3.

38 Benjamin Smith, “Recollections of the Late War,” 3, Benjamin Smith Papers, Illinois State

Historical Library. 39 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 19. 40 James Marten, Lessons of War: The Civil War in Children‟s Magazines (Wilmington, Del.:

SR Books, A Scholarly Resources Inc. Imprint, 1999), 75 41 Elliot West and Paula Petrik. Small Worlds: Children & Adolescents in America, 1850-1950,

(Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1992) 93. 42 James Marten, Lessons of War: The Civil War in Children‟s Magazines (Wilmington, Del.:

SR Books, A Scholarly Resources Inc. Imprint, 1999), 107-108. 43 Jesse B. Young, What a Boy Saw in the Army: A story of sight-seeing and adventure in the

War for the Union, (New York: Hunt & Eaton, 1894), 391. 44 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 7. 45 “The Union,” Student & Schoolmate, February 1861, 75,

http://www.merrycoz.org/ssmate/edit6101.htm 46 John A. Andrew, “The Stars and Stripes,” Student & Schoolmate, July 1861, 268-269,

http://www.merrycoz.org/ssmate/stripes.htm 47 John A. Andrew, “The Stars and Stripes,” Student & Schoolmate, July 1861, 268-269,

http://www.merrycoz.org/ssmate/stripes.htm 48 Thomas F. Schwartz, “Grief, Souvenirs, and Enterprise Following Lincoln‟s Assassination,”

Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 83 (Winter 1990), 262. 49 Wilkinson, 7. 50 Jim Murphy, The Boys‟ War (New York, NY: Clarion Books, 1990), 6-7. 51 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 16. 52 Elliot West and Paula Petrik. Small Worlds: Children & Adolescents in America, 1850-1950,

(Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1992), 94-95. 53 Jane D. Chaplin, Black and White; or, The Heart, not the Face, American Tract Society, 1863.

54 James Marten, The Children‟s Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,

1998), 19.